Garment



C. LARISON Feb. 29, 1944.v

GARMENT Filed July 25, 1941 Patented Feb. 29, 1944 GARMENT CarmenLaisonflhoenlx, Arzi; now by marriag lCarme'n L. Graham nppneatmnJulyas,1941.,.'se1-iarNo. 404,087

(ci. z -211) 4 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to the manufacture ofwomensgarments such as skirts, Ydresses or. the ,like and relates moreparticularly ato the manufacture of a pleated, wrinkled or .crinkledskirt or dress and also to .the packaging of the garment fortransportation Aand display.

More specifically the presentinv-ention relates to ,the manufacture of askirt or dress having more or -less irregular pleats or Vwrinkleslengthwise of the garment; the invention having for one of .its objectsa `method which greatly facilitates the production of closely spacednumerous and irregular pleats or wrinkles disposed generally lengthwiseof the `garment. and which .impart to the garmenta particularlyattractive .appearance byvirtue of the :great number of such pleats,wrinkles or creases, and also by virtue of their irregularity.

Another object of the linvention is to provide a garment of this type inwhich the creases, A

:though extending generally lengthwiseof the garment, do not eachnecessarily extend the full length of the garment. By the present methodlsome creases may stop short of the length of the lgarment at Airregularpoints, but other creases also extending generally lengthwise of Atheagarment then proceed from thesepoints at lperhaps :a slight angle tothe first mentioned creases. This arrangement of creases,v pleats orwrinkles imparts to the garment a fulness 4of a highlydis- -tinctivequality. The present process isfparticularly applicable to garments madeof .cotton prints by reason of the vattractive ornamental. appeara-nceobtained by the interplay ofthe print design with the irregular crease,wrinkles vor."

pleat-s; moreover, the garment of the present method by reason' of themultiplicityfand irregularity of the lengthwise creases minimizes vtheeffects -of the creases had during wear of cotton wprints, and thegarment vtherefore retains 'itsattra-cti-ve and fresh appearance for amuchvlonger period than other cotton garments.

Another object of the present invention is lto provide an attractive andvcompact package including the ,garment of the present manufacture,

which `prevents the introduction of undesirable creases in the garment,which greatly facilitates -the storing and transportation of the:garment and which in addition also forms a novel :and

attractive display of the garment in the store and ready for delivery tothe customer.

Under the present inventionthe full gathered skirt is soaked in watel`and while still wet it is wrapped tightly around a stick, tied withseveral cords and permitted to dry. In the wrapping operation care istaken that the garment is Acreased -so as to have .each portion of thegatheredmaterial extendlengthwise of the stick and 'below thecorresponding portionv of the waist band. By means of this step thecreases,though irregular in length and direction, nevertheless-allextend in a general direction substantially parallel to the stick, andin the garment when worn the creases rextend, downwardly from the Waistband. When the wrapping operation is completed, the exposed folded edgeextends substantiallyparallel to the stick.

The wet wrapped skirt may be dried in any suitable manner as by exposureto the atmosphere or by exposure to warm xair. When dry, theskirtwra-pped and tied on the stick .is ready for storage,transportation and display to ythe trade and consumer, and .for deliveryto ,the

Atrade and consumer.

It forms its own package which constitutes a highly attractive displayof the gar-ment. Moreover the garment can be -`delivered tothe-purchaser in this form without-unwrapping it from the sstick. Thusthe vproblem of packaging and delivery of the garment to the purchaseris simplified. v

Other advantages 'of the present invention' will lbecome apparent toIpersons skilled in @the .artt from fthe accompanying drawing andthefollowing specification.

vIn the drawing:

Fig; 1 vshows the `customaryfull gathered skirt;

Fig. f2 lshows 'the Ltirst -step of the wrapping `operation;

.Figa 3 fshows the "completed wrapped skirt;

Fig. 4 shows a .modification in which a :wrapping of any suitablematerial is employed in 'lieu of thecords shown'in Fig. 3;- and Fig, 5illustrates the :appearance of the :skirt when vunwrapped for wear.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. ,:l ,shows a full 'gathered skirt made"in the customary'manner. This comprises the waist :band LI Il :and the:'-main 'body portion II. Thelength ofthe waist, .line of :the `portionII before it is gathered andlattached to the waist band shouldpreferably -be approximately twice the length of the waist band. :The-skirt I I is vfully gathered -as it is sewed, to Athe -waist band toform a multiplicity of closely `spaced gathers I2. -These'cau'se theformation of a rela tively small number of uncre'ased folds VI3 whichextendxdownwardly to the hem'of the skirt.

In the next step in the process, the skirt is dipped in cold water sothat it is thoroughly wet. After permitting the excess water to dripoff, it is 55 Wrapped on a stick I4. For this Wrapping operation one endof the waist band I is fixed to the stick by a tack I5. The folded edgeI6 is then made to lie lengthwise of the stick I4 and extend downwardlysubstantially in line with the tacked edge of the waist band I0. As thewrapping proceeds care is always taken that the gathered portions anddrapes I3 should extend substantially parallel to the stick and that thedrapes should be in approximate alinement with the gathers I2 from whichthey flow. Thus in this process of wrapping, the material between thedrapes I3 is bunched together closely and tightly compacted and made tolie closely to the stick or to the layer of material immediatelybeneath. In this proc- '"3 ess of wrapping, the uncreased drapes I3tendu to disappear and are replaced by a great multiplicity ofirregular, closely spaced and generally longitudinal creases which areapproximately parallel to the stick. Such creases are indicated-at II inFigs. 3 and 5. It should be particularly noted that the number of suchcreases is many times greater than the number of drapes or uncreased'folds that normally occur in a gathered-skirt and that the creasesgreatly exceed the number of gathers at the waist band.

Many of the creases originate with the gathers and many more creases arealso disposed in the material between the gathers. Many creases appearto terminate at irregularly disposed points as at I8 and I9 while othercreases that may have originated above these points continue from thepoints I8 and I9 downwardly. VSome of the creases commence at irregularpoints below the waist line;

are tied around the skirt as shown, these being, preferably, four suchcords, one near the waist band, another near or about the hem of theskirt, and two more about evenly 'spaced over the main body portion ofthe skirt II. These hold the creased wet skirt closely wrapped to theystick. The skirt thus wrapped and tied on the stick will cause thecreases to be accentuatedduring the drying operation. For drying theskirt thus Wrapped and tied, it is merely exposed to the atmosphere orto the ow of warm air.

When dried, the skirt wrapped and tied to the stick is ready for themarket, is displayed in this form to the trade and to the public and isalso transported and delivered in this form to the trade and to thepublic.

If desired, the wrapped skirt may be enclosed in a protective covering23, which has its edges held together by pins Z4. In this form the cords22 vmay or may not be employed under the covering 23 as desired.

Fig. 5 illustrates the appearance of the skirt when worn by thepurchaser, and it will be obthe effect of the creases ordinarily hadwhen such skirts are worn and that therefore the neat and freshappearance of the garment is lengthened and its life is enhanced.

When both the cords 22 and a covering 23 are employed, the skirt shouldpreferably be dried before the covering 23 is applied. If desired, thecords 22 may be eliminated and the covering 23 applied and its edgessecured together by pins 24 while the skirt is still wet and the packagethus formed is then dried by exposure to the atmosphere or to warm air.

I claim:

1. A method for the simultaneous creasing and packaging of a skirt orthe like having a fully lgathered waist line, and having downwardlydiserved that the irregular and closely spaced creases impart to theskirt the desired fullness and a particularly distinctive appearance. Inaddition these irregular creases serveto minimize rected uncreaseddrape-like folds, comprising wetting the skirt, tightly forming amultiplicity of downwardly extending creases in substantial alinementwith the corresponding gathered por- "tions and simultaneously wrappingsaid wet skirt exclusively on a stick'with the'creases extendingsubstantially parallel to the stick, encircling at least portions of theskirt so that the stick and wrapped skirt form a compact package, anddrying the skirt.

2. A method for the simultaneous creasing and packaging `of a skirt orthe like having a fully vgathered waist line, and having downwardlydirected uncreased drape-like folds, comprising wetting the skirt,tightly forming a, multiplicity of downwardly extending creases insubstantial `alinement with the corresponding gathered portions andsimultaneously wrapping said wet skirt exclusively on a stick with thecreases extending substantially parallel to the stick, tying the creasedwet skirt to the stick circumferentially at several points along thelength of the skirt, so that'the stick and wrapped skirt form a compactpackage, and drying the skirt.

l3. A method for the simultaneous creasing and .packaging of a skirt orthe like having a fully gathered waist line, and having downwardlydirected uncreased drape-like folds, comprising wetting the skirt,tightly forming a multiplicity of downwardly extending creases insubstantial alinement with the corresponding gathered p0rtions andsimultaneously wrapping said wet skirt exclusively on a' stick with thecreases extending substantially parallel to the stick, tying the creasedwet skirt to the stick circumferentially at several points along thelength of the skirt,

y-s o;that the stick and wrapped skirt form a compact package, wrappingthe dried skirt in a piece of fabric and securing the edges of thefabric together.

4. A method for the simultaneous creasing and packaging of a skirt orthe like having a fully gathered waist line, and having downwardlydirected uncreased drape-like folds, comprising wetting the skirt,forming a multiplicity of down-

